


Who Wants to Be Alone (on Christmas)?

by Emeli_Thorne



Series: Kastle Christmas 2K17 AU - Kastle as neighbours [1]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst and Feels, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, Diner Dates, F/M, Fluff, Frank has a secret!!!, Frank is her helpful next door neighbour, Frank is not The Punisher, Frank is so angsty, Friends to Lovers, Karen has a secret!!, Karen's daughter is adorable, Kastle AU, Kastle Christmas fic, Strangers to Friends, but wants to help his neighbour, cooking as a part of courtship ritual lol, kastle christmas, oh yeah, single mom!Karen, smut! but not too much, they start bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-19 23:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13134519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeli_Thorne/pseuds/Emeli_Thorne
Summary: Single parent Karen moves into her new apartment with her six-year-old daughter Addie. They encounter troubles with their kitchen sink and a helpful neighbour offers to fix it for them.As days go by, Frank and Karen start to grow closer, but both have emotional baggage they are not so willing to share with others. Or are they?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays everyone! The idea for this fic hit me this morning and I debated whether or not to write it, but I said what the heck, let's do it. And so, here we are. I hope you'll like it and that it isn't too ooc for either Frank or Karen. It's kind of strange and a bit difficult to write them in an AU where there is no blood and violence.

“This is the last box,” one of the movers huffed out as he put the box with the inscription _Addie_ on the floor.

“Thank you so much,” Karen smiled politely and tipped the two men, then bid them goodbye, making sure to lock both locks on her door.

Walking back into the living room, she smiled tiredly, but contently. It wasn’t much: a two bedroom apartment with adjoining kitchen and living room and a small bathroom, but it was enough for the two of them. It was by pure miracle she caught the ad in the newspapers. As soon as she had seen it, Karen called the number and arranged to come see the apartment since she was in desperate need to move out of her old place. The building was in a relatively safe neighbourhood and, as the landlord told her, all the neighbours were nice people who wouldn't meddle too much in her personal business. She welcomed that since she wasn’t big on sharing with strangers or having anyone sticking their nose in her life. 

Just as she started to sift through boxes to determine which went where, a six-year-old ran into the room, her chubby cheeks flushed, blonde hair spilling out of her pigtails. 

“Moooooom! I love my new room!”

Karen flew backwards onto the floor when the girl jumped into her embrace. Karen chuckled, smoothing her hair, “I’m glad you like it, pumpkin. We’ll have to paint it, though. What do you think?”

The girl’s brows furrowed, looking pensive. After a few moments a broad smile spread across her face, her eyes glowing, “Can we paint it purple? Or yellow?”

“Sure. We can go buy the paint tomorrow.”

“Yay!” the girl exclaimed, kissing her mother’s cheek. “When can I move in?”

Karen was lying on the floor, Addie sitting on her mother’s stomach. She was growing up fast, but Karen still saw her as the baby she was at six weeks old, just as beautiful and restless now as she was then. If someone had told her that one day she was going to be a mom, she would have laughed in their face and called them crazy. By a wicked play of fate, Addie came into her life and in spite of the circumstances, Karen loved her more than anything else in the world.

“Well, we have so much to do before we can finally settle,” Karen replied, caressing her daughter’s cheek, “But I promise your room will be the first one done, ‘key?”

Addie nodded excitedly, the remaining strands tied in pigtails finally setting themselves free. She grabbed the fallen hair ties and set out to retie her hair. “Okay. Mommy?”

“Yeah, baby?” Karen kissed her hand, blowing a raspberry and eliciting a giggle from her daughter.

“I’m hungry.”

Karen abruptly sat up, holding Addie close to her, “Oh. I totally forgot what time it is.” She stretched her arm and grabbed her phone off the charger sitting on a stool in the corner of the room. The clock showed 8:26. It seemed like they just got in, when in reality they spent almost the entire day bringing in boxes and furniture and arguing with the movers’ company when they sent two trucks on the wrong address. Karen sighed, getting up and pulling Addie with her. “Let me order something. What are you in mood for?”

“Pizza!”

Karen laughed, walking to the small kitchen island and taking a seat on one of the stools. Addie followed her, skipping her way to her seat. “Okay. The usual then. But as soon as the kitchen’s done, we’re back on healthy food, missy. No more junk food,” Karen pointed a threatening finger at her and Addie giggled, a mischievous grin on her face.

“Pizza’s not junk food, mom. It’s got vegetables on it. And meat.”

“All right, miss smarty pants,” rolling her eyes in amusement, Karen started dialling the number saved in her contacts, “You already know how this conversation will end.”

“Yes, mom,” the girl groaned, stretching the last word.

“Go change into your pjs and I’ll order in.”

Addie trotted to her suitcase in the living room and started rummaging through her clothes while Karen recited their order to the person on the other end of the line. After the call ended, she too changed into a more festive sweater and clean sweatpants, her favourite combination for the winter.

Their delivery arrived soon after and they spent the following hour devouring the pizza and talking about their plans for the next few days.

It was nearing Christmas, and Karen knew this was the worst time to move, but having no other option, she did what she had to do. Now though, she struggled to come up with ways to finish the majority of works around the apartment before Christmas and before the end of her vacation days. All the rooms had to be repainted, some of the cupboards and doors needed their hinges and locks changed and the heating seemed to be acting up since the old tenants didn’t seem to put too much effort in apartment maintenance. In spite of the landlord’s efforts, he didn’t manage to fix everything by the time Karen and her daughter moved in so Karen took it on herself to do as much as she could.

Her budget wasn't that big, not after paying deposit and a one-month rent in advance, paying the movers, buying some new furniture since the one from their previous apartment belonged to that landlord. Expenses seemed to keep piling up and Karen was getting a headache just thinking of how much more money she would have to spend to get things in order.

After dinner, Karen proceeded to unpack some of the boxes and bags with bedsheets, blankets and pillows and arranging a single mattress currently placed in their living room floor, like everything else, it seemed. Their beds and the few furniture pieces they owned were scheduled to arrive tomorrow so they would have to spend this night on the mattress.

Just as she was heading to the bathroom to wash her teeth a shriek came out of the kitchen. Startled, Karen rushed towards the sound, her heart in her throat, only to find Addie bent over the sink, the front of her red pyjamas with reindeer soaked wet. The girl looked at her mother wide-eyed, biting her lip.

“What happened?” Karen exhaled worriedly, cupping Addie’s face, looking over and checking for any injuries.

“I don’t know. I think something’s stuck inside. I got splashed when I opened the tap.”

Karen closed her eyes in exasperation, rubbing her temples as she leaned against the counter, “Oh my god, not this, not now.” _Why was this happening to her?_

Addie’s words startled her again, “It’s clogged. Ups, no, it’s leaking!”

Some of the water was retained in the sink and it kept bubbling from the drain, while the rest seemed to be leaking out, judging by Addie’s wet socks. Karen opened the cabinet only to find a puddle of muddy water under a pipe, spilling outside onto the tiles.

Karen sent Addie to change her socks and put on some slippers as she rummaged once again through the boxes to find some towels. She laid a few of them on the tiles to soak up the water as she tried to unclog the drain using a plunger. It was futile, the water kept leaking into the cabinet and onto the tiles.

Brushing her stray sweaty hair out of her face with her arm, Karen felt panic rising in her chest. How in the world was she going to fix this? _One expense more..._

Addie came back, shifting from foot to foot, watching her mother pile on more towels on the already soaked ones.

“I’m not sure the landlord will want to come up at this hour. Damn it!” Karen yelled, tossing the plunger back into the sink, splashing her sweater with the water from the sink. She was on the brink of crying.

“Mom!” Addie chided, frowning at her.

“Oh, sorry, baby,” Karen apologised tiredly, taking off rubber gloves and tying her hair into a messy bun, then exhaling loudly. Casting another glance at the mess of towels and muddy water, Karen headed for the door, kissing the crown of Addie’s head on her way out.

“You wait here, ok? I’ll go see if Mr Joe’s still awake.”

Addie nodded sleepily and sat at the island, drawing circles on the marble with her finger as her mother went to look for the landlord.

Just as she opened the door, Karen came face to face with a hooded figure. Karen wasn’t very proud of the sound that came out of her mouth, but to be fair, he scared the shit out of her.

The figure pulled down the hood to reveal a bearded man, the same height as her, Karen noted, looking at her with confusion.

“Sorry ma'am, did I scare you?”

Hand on her chest, Karen swallowed hard before replying nervously, “Yeah, sorry I cussed you. I didn’t expect anyone lurking the hallways at this hour.”

“You callin’ me a lurker, ma’am?” he said, his tone playful as he smirked at her.

“Well, you might be.”

He huffed a laugh, extending his hand to her, "I’m Frank. 2C."

They shook hands, and Karen noticed how much bigger his hand was compared to hers, engulfing her hand almost completely. His grip was firm, but not in a threatening way and he didn’t hold her hand for too long.

“Oh, you live across from us. I’m Karen,” she flashed him a grin as some of her initial fear ebbed.

Frank nodded, eyes trained on her sweater. Karen gave him a look before realising he was probably staring at the wet stain. Her socks and the hems of her sweatpants were also wet and she could feel cold creeping in.

“You need help with somethin’?” Frank asked, finally drawing his eyes towards her.

Karen almost cried in that moment, exhaustion and her financial burdens weighing heavy on her. She jumped at the opportunity Frank offered, blabbering away.

“Yes, please. The sink’s clogged or it’s not. I don’t know. It’s leaking on one end and on the other it’s stuck. I was going to get the landlord but-”

Frank waved her off, “Joe’s out. If you want, I can take a look,” he added somewhat bashfully, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Would you?" Karen practically begged, her hands clasped together in front of her, desperation clear in her voice." I’m completely inept in that department.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Frank responded smiling and Karen invited him in.

She led him into the small kitchen, finding Addie still sitting at the island. Karen moved to stand by her daughter, resting her hands on her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. Frank looked at the little girl for a long moment then offered her his hand.

“Hi there.”

“Hi mister,” Addie took his hand and gave him a firm shake, her expression serious.

“I’m Frank.”

“Addie. I’m six.”

Frank grinned at the girl's addition then looked up at Karen.

“My daughter,” she said as an explanation.

Frank looked back at Addie.“Nice to meet you, little lady."

They nodded at each other and Addie turned her gaze towards her mom, as if asking her who the man was.

"This is our neighbour, sweetie. He was kind enough to offer his help."

Frank took off his jacket, leaving it on the island and moved towards the sink. He was wearing a thick black henley and dark jeans, and as he rolled up his sleeves, from the corner of her eye Karen observed how well he filled out the shirt. She immediately rebuked herself though, she had to stop that train of thought.

“What do we got here,” he knelt on one knee, leaning forward and checking if the pipes were screwed correctly. From the way he was positioned on the floor, his fine, jean-clad ass was on full display. Karen had to choke the sound that was threatening to leave her mouth and cough to cover it up. It wasn't the time nor the place, especially not the person she should be having such thoughts about. Sure, it's been awhile since she was with a man in any capacity other than a friendly chat but this was a whole new can of worms she wasn’t ready to open just yet. He was practically a stranger, for god's sake!

“I wanted to wash my hands but the water wouldn’t go down,” Addie told Frank and he turned around to see her playing with the hem of her pyjamas, looking apprehensive.

“It's not your fault, sweetheart," he assured her, "Hmmm. Let’s see." Frank got up and tried to look down the drain but he couldn’t see anything. The lighting in the kitchen was pretty bad and Karen added buying new light bulbs to her ever growing list of expenses.

“It looks like somethin' stuck in the pipe. Let me go get some tools. I’ll be right back.”

Frank returned five minutes later,  a tool belt in his hand. He took the same position as the last time, but before he started anything he called for Addie and she jumped off the stool and rushed to him.

“Okay, now. This is a two men job," he said in all seriousness, cocking his brow at her, "Think you can help me, Addie?”

The girl leapt in glee, “Yeah!”

Both Frank and Karen chuckled, sharing a look before he proceeded with the task. “Hey, Karen?" he glanced over his shoulder at her, "You happen to have a bowl around?”

“Oh, I- let me see." Karen scrambled around, checking the inscriptions on the numerous boxes littering her apartment.  "The boxes are all jumbled." 

It took her a few minutes but at last, she cried out triumphantly, "Found one!" She brought it over, showing it to him, “Will this do?” It was a large glass fruit bowl one of her old neighbours gave her past Christmas.

“Sure. Thanks.” Frank took the bowl from her then focused his attention on Addie again. “Okay, sweetheart, I’m gonna unscrew this pipe now. When I do that I need you to hold that bowl right under it so the water can drain,’key?”

She nodded and Frank beamed, “Good girl, ready?”

He started unscrewing the curved pipe from the horizontal and vertical one and just as he was done, Addie shoved the bowl under it and Frank started pulling down the pipe, slowly, so that the water wouldn’t come out all at once. When the water from the sink drained in the bowl, Frank indicated Addie to remove the bowl.

“Whoa! Ewwww, it smells!” she cried out making a face as she pulled away from the bowl in her hands.

Frank laughed standing up, “It sure does.”

Karen laughed too, taking the bowl from Addie and going to the bathroom to spill its contents in the toilet. When she came back, Frank had already unscrewed the drain opening and started cleaning it with some paper towels he found on the counter. Addie was doing the same with the curved pipe he detached from the other pipes. Frank said something Karen missed to hear and Addie chuckled, looking at him like he said something out of this world.

“Did something rot in there?” Karen asked trying to start a conversation, looking at her daughter as she concentrated on doing her best to clean the wretched pipe.

Karen debated whether to take it from her, but Addie seemed to like being included in Frank’s work so Karen let her act as his assistant.

“Nah, well, probably,” Frank glanced in her direction briefly before continuing what he was doing, “I have no idea what it was, but I think we’ve sorted out the problem.” He screwed back the drain opening then knelt back on the tiles.

“Will you hand me that pipe, Addie?”

She handed it to him and he thank her, reattaching the pipes. Then he stood up and opened the faucet to check whether the water was going down the drain and that there was no leakage.

“There you go, all fixed.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much. I thought we did something or-” Karen started but Frank interrupted her to assure her it wasn’t their fault.

“Nah, the guys who lived here before were real d- you know, they probably caused much more damage,” he was quick to stop himself before he said the bad word and Karen suppressed a smile at his effort. 

Satisfied that everything was dealt with, Frank quickly washed his hands wiped the screwdriver he used on the paper towel and put it back in his tool belt, then picked up his jacket and headed for the door but not before he patted Addie on the back, complimenting her on the work she did.

“Thank you, Addie, for your assistance. You were of great help.”

“You’re welcome, Frank,” Addie beamed at him, swaying from side to side, her hands crossed behind her back.

Karen accompanied him to the door, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed on her chest.

“Thank you again, Frank. What a first impression, right? We don’t even know each other and I’ve already bullied you into fixing something in my apartment,” she said jokingly, though she felt a little embarrassed she had to ask a stranger to help her.

Frank bowed his head, hiding a smile as he pulled out the key to his apartment from his jeans. 

“You gotta a great kid there,” his voice cracked at the last words making Karen frown slightly.

“Yeah, I know. She’s my little smartass.”

He lifted his gaze to her, silent for moment before offering, “Hey, um, if-if you need any more help 'round the apartment...”

“Oh, how nice of you, Frank. Noted. Thanks again.”

Their gazes were locked for a second before Frank spoke again, walking backwards, “Yeah, any time. Well, have a nice evening.”

“Yeah, um, you too.”

Karen gave him a small smile before shutting the door. Frank heard her turn both locks and grinned to himself. _Atta girl._

Back in the apartment, Karen and Addie changed for the second time that night, after cleaning the mess in the kitchen with few remaining clean towels, then curled up on the mattress and fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a dialogue- and angst-heavy chapter, sorry guys. I promise fluff is on the way. It is a Christmas fic after all :D

Over the next few days, Karen struggled to do as much work on her own as she could in the apartment. She asked Joe, the landlord, to help her with some things, like fixing those hinges on the cupboards and checking on the electrical wires because they seemed to be glitching, but that was it. She much preferred to do things at her own pace and rely on herself.

With Addie in school, Karen would usually turn on music, something uplifting and booty-shaking (hey, as long as no one was looking at her, she was bold enough to shake those hips) and went about her business. She scrubbed every surface in the apartment (bathroom twice!), stocked the fridge with healthy food, thereby putting a definite veto on junk food (much as it may displease her daughter), and unpacked most of the boxes that contained items for the living room and kitchen. Those particular rooms weren’t in as bad a shape as the bedrooms so she didn’t bother repainting them. Instead, she arranged the furniture that had arrived, like the two new sofas she bought (for a bargain luckily), her old coffee table she got for her first apartment in New York, and the two commodes Foggy bought and sent her as a housewarming present on which she then arranged framed photos of Addie, herself and some of her friends. 

Her breath was stuck in her throat when she dug out a photo of Addie when she was a day old baby, her nose wrinkled, eyes closed as she yawned. She was resting in Karen’s arms, Karen sporting the widest grin in her life, in spite of the hardship of her labour and ensuing complications, and looking like death warmed over. Addie was alive and that was all that mattered to her. Foggy, the first friend she ever made in New York, took the photo. Karen remembered him bringing a whole bunch of balloons to the hospital room, along with the biggest bouquet of flowers Karen had ever seen. “I went a little overboard, didn’t I?” he had asked suppressing a smile and she nodded, but loved him even more for being so enthusiastic and supportive of her and her child from the get go.

At least she had memories, if not actual people by her side now. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t gone through the worst already. New living space, new opportunities – that’s what this was all about. Changing up her routine and ensuring her daughter’s safety.

Addie and she had gone to choose the paint colours for their bedrooms a few days back. After seeing the many colours she could choose from, Addie changed her initial wish and decided she wanted her room painted turquoise. And though Karen wanted to finish her daughter’s room as soon as possible, Addie’s enthusiasm for having her room done soon suddenly disappeared and she wanted them to go to the park so she could play in snow, and so Karen postponed painting for some other day.

So, it was now that Karen found herself outside her apartment building, snuggled into her winter coat as snowflakes landed on her face and hat, her arms already hurting just from carrying those paint buckets from the store into the cab. Carrying them up to her apartment would be a real challenge, she realised.

She had just climbed the first few steps, huffing and puffing and fearing her lungs were going to give out, when she heard stomping behind her. As she turned around, she saw it was her neighbour, dressed almost identically as the last time, save that he now also had a black baseball cap pulled low over his head, hiding his features.

“Oh, hi Frank,” she greeted him, leaning against the wall and smiling tiredly at him.

“Hey, Karen,” Frank greeted her back, taking off the cap and shoving it in his jacket pocket. He looked down to the heavy weigh she was carrying then up at her. He nodded towards the buckets in her hands, “You need help with that?”, his voice gravelly.

Debating whether to ask him for help or not, Karen eventually acceded,

“Do you mind?”

“No of course not. Gimme that,” Frank immediately took two larger paint buckets (Karen wouldn’t let him take the third one as well; it was much lighter and easier for her to carry) and they started climbing up the stairway, Karen behind him.

“Thank you. I swear I thought I was going to dislocate my shoulders,” she said and they both laughed. Then Frank told her, in a tone that was half rebuke,

“You shoulda asked me, I would’ve gone instead.” 

“Oh I don’t like to bother others,” she answered shortly, not wanting to get into her mistrust of people and reluctance to rely on anyone but herself. Besides, she barely knew him, she couldn’t keep asking him to do things for her like he was her errand boy.

Frank’s quiet words broke through her thoughts, “It’s no bother, really.”

A few quiet moments ensued, when all one could hear was Frank’s occasional groan and Karen’s panting. The building seemed to be relatively empty this time of day. Eventually, Frank restarted the conversation, briefly looking at her over his shoulder, 

“How’s the sink?”

“Oh, ummm, great,” Karen replied as she was rummaging through her bag looking for her keys. Finding them, she looked up, grinning at him, “Yeah, great. You did a good job, even Joe commended you.” They reached her door and she started unlocking it, “He told me you help around a lot.”

Frank lowered his head, blush creeping up his cheeks. _Was he shy?_

They got inside the apartment and Karen indicated to him where to put the paint buckets as she took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack along with her bag and hat, and took off her boots.

“Yeah, I- I just like to help wherever I can,” he spoke modestly, eyes darting from floor to her and back, arms hanging limply at his sides.

Karen tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms on her chest, regarding him for a moment before saying, “Well, Addie and I thank you.”

“No problem, ma’am.”

She noticed how he kept clenching his fists, his right index finger twitching at an even interval. 

“So, uh, you plannin’ on paintin’ the apartment?” asked Frank, looking around the living room, gaze stopping one the array of photographs on one of the commodes. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly and Karen followed his gaze: he was looking at Addie’s baby photo. He was frozen for an instant when Karen replied, pulling his focus on herself.

“Just Addie’s room, and mine for now. I can do the rest later.”

“By yourself?”

Karen exhaled, running her hand through her hair, “Yeah, I don’t, really have the money to hire-” 

Frank interrupted her, nervousness clear in his voice as he shifted from one foot to the other, speaking slowly to, as Karen imagined, appear unassuming, “I-I could do it. That is, if you want to.”

His finger was still twitching against his thigh; he was looking slightly to the side, never completely at her and never for more than a few instants.

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to trouble you. I’m sure you have other things to do.”

Lips curving in a small smile, head slightly tilted, his eyes gleaming, he insisted, “Karen, I offered. Besides, I really wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you to do all this by yourself when I have nothing else to do.”

Mouth agape, Karen was left speechless. She just couldn’t comprehend why anyone would go out of their way to help someone the way Frank did and to that extent. It appeared like her initial rejection pained him, and the more Karen though about it, the more it seemed like Frank was one of those people with an ingrained need to help others, to make things easier for them; it came like a second nature to him.

“Are you sure?” she enquired, not wanting to look like she was taking advantage of his generosity.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure,” Frank persisted, nodding along to his words to further assure her.

“Okay, thanks.”

When she finally accepted, Frank let out a breath, nodding once more. “When do you wanna start?”

“I was thinking today actually. Addie’s at school, I thought I could finish at least her room, she’s so excited. But if you can’t today-” 

Frank hurried to assent, already moving towards the door, “No, no, I can. Let me just go get changed. I’ll be right back.”

Smiling once more, this time a little wider as he passed by her, Frank left the apartment, leaving Karen bemused by their whole exchange and his peculiar mannerisms she had picked up on.

Karen used the time Frank was away to change as well, opting for an old hoodie which already had small holes from years of use and some yoga pants. Tying her hear in a ponytail, she went to Addie's room and covered the hardwood floor with some old newspapers so it wouldn't get messy when they started painting. 

A soft knock came a few minutes later and when she opened the door, Frank was standing there in a plaid shirt and some ratty jeans, a rather large plastic bag in his left hand, while on his right shoulder he carried a ladder. He looked pretty handsome and Karen couldn’t keep her gaze from wandering to his biceps and the small stretch of skin that was visible since he didn’t button his shirt all the way up.

“What's all that?” Karen asked as she took the bag from him and let him inside.

“I hope you don't mind, I brought a few things.”

Karen opened the bag to see it was full of paint rollers and brushes of various sizes, as well as a can of paint thinner and a few paint scrapers.

“Wow! A few? This is a whole arsenal of house painting tools,” she looked up at him and he bowed his head for a second, scratching his neck. 

“Yeah... I like to be prepared y’know?” he said with a smirk.

Karen grinned, “Obviously.”

“I didn't know if you had any paint rollers and brushes or a ladder, so I brought my own.”

“Oh, I only have one paint roller, so good idea.”

Karen led him to Addie’s room and he propped the ladder against one of the walls, then went to the living room to bring the paint buckets he left there when he first came in.

Frank and Karen then agreed they each would paint a wall, and that Frank would paint the ceiling. They exchanged a few ideas regarding the way they should paint the room, and Frank suggested they have the ceiling painted turquoise and the walls white with some patterns so it wouldn’t look dull. He proceeded to tape the painter’s tape around the window so as not to get paint on it, then mixed the paint and they each took a paint roller. 

“Hey, awhile back I painted my friend’s kids’ rooms,” Frank started, just before they were about to commence, “Leo, she.. she wanted some weird patterns on her bedroom walls so I bought a whole bunch of stencils. Think your kid would like something like that?”

Karen’s eyes flashed wide open in surprise, “Oh yeah! Addie?! Definitely. What do you have?”

Frank started taking out various stencils from the bag he brought and showing them to her. There were ones with flowers, hearts, ballerinas, books. Karen spotted one stencil and pointed at it, “Oh, Addie will love these!” The stencil was that of mermaids, and since Addie loved Ariel, it would be perfect for her.

Frank put that stencil on the side and put the others back in the bag. They started painting in a comfortable silence, backs turned to each other.

Karen debated whether to try and start a conversation since she wasn’t sure if Frank liked to talk while working. Her curiosity regarding him got the better of her.

“So, um, Frank. How long have you lived here?”

“‘bout three years. It’s nice. Quiet.” 

“And safe,” Karen added, “It was a relief when I found this place.”

“Your old neighbourhood wasn’t safe?”

She hesitated a bit before answering, “Ummm, no, I mean yes, it was it’s just... We had to move out quickly and I had few options. All the other available apartments were in sketchy neighbourhoods so those were out of the question.” She took a breath then continued, “Addie and I... we... we’re used to being alone, y’know? We look out for each other as weird as that might sound. I knew I couldn’t bring her in some dangerous part of the city just because we were struggling financially.”

Karen turned around to see if Frank was listening. He acknowledged her by nodding, “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

“How about you? What brought you here?”

The silence that followed her question was so acute, Karen turned around again to check if she maybe said something wrong. Frank wasn't just standing, unmoving, paint dripping from his paint roller onto the newspapers Karen had laid out onto the floor.

His voice sounded strained, unnatural when he finally stuttered, “My family... Th- the- they... they died three years ago,” a pause ensued, then he added, all choked up, “Wife and two kids. Boy and a girl.”

Karen gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. There was nothing she wanted to do more in that moment than hug Frank, for what reason she wasn’t sure. To give him support? As a way of acknowledging his pain? Her arms started reaching out for him, but she stopped herself. There were limits she wasn’t ready to cross yet.

Frank was still. Karen heard his sharp intake of breath, took in the rigidness of his back, the tension in his muscles before it all seemed to dissipate like it was never there at all.

“Frank,” was what she managed to croak while hundreds of questions flashed in her mind. I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have ask-“

He just shook his head without ever looking back at her, resuming his work.“Nah. Don’t worry.”

Karen understood it was easier for him to talk when he wasn’t facing her so she resumed her work too. Once she gathered her bearings, Karen continued,

“So you moved here-”

“I couldn’t stay there. What am I gonna do there by myself? It’s not a family house when there’s no family, right?” he said dejectedly, his tone growing quieter with every word he spoke, until it was almost a whisper.

“Frank.”

But he didn’t hear her or he just chose to ignore her. Either way, he continued by telling her, “I packed most of their belongings in a storage, took some things with me. Sold the house, came here.”

“Must have been hard. I can’t even imagine.”

“Yeah it was. Still is.”

Instead of probing him further about his family, Karen decided to share something personal with him, in spite of not being sure whether it was a good idea to do that or not. She took a shaky breath, her hands trembling slightly as the words left her mouth.

“You know, I’ve been through some pretty shitty things in my life. Addie’s dad... he wasn’t... he wasn’t a good person,” she had to close her eyes for a moment as the memories assaulted her, tears pricking her eyes, “I wish I’d known it sooner. There were days when I wanted to die because I just couldn’t take it anymore.” 

God, what a fool she was. Looking back on her past life choices always made Karen feel like the biggest of idiots. Sometimes she wanted to bang her head against the wall until she forgot that wretched night and how utterly helpless she had felt, until she forgot the way fear had gripped every cell in her body and how she had actually believed she was going to die without anyone knowing about it.

Her voice became cheerful at the memory of her daughter, “Then Addie came. She is all I have. So no matter what, I know I did one thing right. I know I have someone to pull me out of my misery. Frank,” she turned to find him looking at her quizzically, as if he was genuinely trying to understand what she was saying. It caught her off guard so she stumbled with her words before she managed to finish saying what she intended in the first place, a bit flustered, “What I’m trying to say is, I know it must be tough on you, god, it must be so tough. But you gotta find something to pull you out.”

They stood facing each other now, eyes locked as silence stretched between them. Eventually, Frank nodded and Karen gave him the briefest of smiles before suggesting they make a break, their staring contest making her feel... uncomfortable. She felt like he could see into her soul, see the truths she’s hiding and she wasn’t ready to give them to anyone. Not now. Maybe not ever.

She went into the kitchen and made them a couple of sandwiches, all the while thinking how to lighten up their conversation that had taken such a dark turn. She couldn’t think of anything, the flashbacks to that night still present in spite of her attempts to push them to the very back of her mind. 

Putting the sandwiches on a tray, along with two mugs of coffee, Karen went back to the room, finding Frank sitting on the window sill, eyes trained on the street below. 

Karen sat next to him, holding the tray on her lap. He thanked her when she handed him the sandwich, holding himself somewhat guarded. Putting the tray on the floor, she picked up the other sandwich and took a bite.

“It’s PB&J, I hope that’s ok.”

Frank murmured something resembling ‘it’s fine’ and started eating, now looking at the floor. 

They ate slowly and in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and as the minutes stretched, Karen grew increasingly worried she had fallen into a dangerous and painful territory with Frank, talking about their lives. She already told him more than she ever told Foggy. His voice brought her out of her reverie, 

“I’ve been doing this ‘one day at a time’ thing.”

_We’re back on that. Ok._

“Yeah, that works too.”

Again, he just nodded, finishing the last of his sandwich. Karen handed him a mug with coffee and he thanked her, complimenting her for making it a plain black coffee, telling her how that’s the only right way to take coffee. She laughed, telling him she was in the wrong then, since she took hers with abundance of sugar, proving it by adding three sugar cubes. _Life’s too bitter to have your coffee add to it as well_. His only answer was a grunt as he took a sip, staring at her over the rim of the mug.

“You work?” he asked her, wrapping his fingers around the warm mug.

“Umm, yeah, I’m a crime reporter for the Bulletin.”

His surprise was obvious. His eyebrows shot up, eyes-wide, mouth agape. “Wait, you’re Karen Page? _The_ Karen Page?”

“Yeah,” Karen answered, tucking a loose strand of her hear behind her ear. Her cheeks were burning.

“No shit, I read all your articles,” he exclaimed enthusiastically, shifting so he was fully facing her. “Seems pretty brave to be covering stories like that.”

She detected praise in his voice and damn, if it didn’t make her feel all flustered.

From that point on, their day went better than it had started. Karen told him a bit about her job, how she decided what stories to pursue, what stories she hopes she would cover in the future. Frank told her he worked as a construction worker, but that in winter work was sparse so instead he was employed at an animal shelter. The pay wasn’t much, but it beat every other job he considered. _And besides, animals are much better companions than people, y’know? No judgement from them._ Karen didn’t agree completely, but she got his point.

They finished Addie’s room sooner than Karen expected, and Frank helped her clean up and arrange the furniture, though Addie would still have to sleep that night in Karen’s room, just to make sure all the paint had dried.

“Thank you so much for today. I swear I should tattoo thank you on my forehead. I’m in your debt,” Karen said as she locked the door to her apartment to go pick up Addie from school, Frank standing by his door holding the ladder and the bag with the painting tools.

“I told you, no need to thank me. I’m glad to help. Keeps me busy.” Karen smiled softly, understanding what he meant by that.

Later that day, after Addie and Karen came back home and Karen surprised her by showing her a finished room, Addie was over the moon. She immediately ran to Frank’s door, knocking frantically.

Frank opened the door cautiously, on constant alert. Seeing it was Addie, he grinned at her and greeted her. He didn’t even manage to utter anything other than _hello_ before Addie, beaming from ear to ear, eyes shining brightly blurted,  “Thank you Frank, for helping my mom paint my room. You’re the best!”

She took him by surprise by wrapping her arms around his legs and hugging him tightly.

He stood there frozen for a moment, before he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, a small smile appearing on his face.

Karen observed them from her threshold, unable to hide her own grin, warmth blooming within her chest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm cursing myself for deciding to write a Christmas fic at the last minute because the deadline is killing me and I feel like I made Frank too angsty and now I can't dig myself out of that hole :(
> 
> There's one more chapter which I hope to post tomorrow (hopefully I will find my way out of angst and torment)

The following day, at precisely ten a.m. the doorbell rang, waking up Karen from her peaceful slumber. After she had taken Addie to school, she came back home and snuggled under the covers, still tired from yesterday’s work.

Grudgingly and accompanied with a few curses, Karen dragged herself to the door and opened them half squinting, only to find Frank’s smiling face stare at her.

“Good morn-Oh, shit! I woke you up.”

Karen was awake in seconds, hyper aware of her dishevelled hair and wondering if there’s drool on her face. She cleared her throat, shaking her head slightly to summon her wits.

“Frank! What are you doing here? What time is it?”

God, she was so disoriented and here he was, dressed in those same jeans and plaid shirt as yesterday, again with the top unbuttoned so the dip of his neck and the beginning of his pecs was visible. Gulping, Karen bit her lip to swallow a moan.

_He wasn’t fair, not fair at all._

“Ten. I’m sorry. Look, I thought we could get a head start on painting your bedroom today.”

When she looked at him in panic (because the general state of mess in her room flashed in her mind) Frank hurried to explain himself, his cheeks turning bright red.

“’cause we were talkin’ yesterday and you said you’d like to see it all finished by Christmas so I thought...”

She remembered what she had said. She remembered when she had said it. You see, the thing was, she didn’t think he was actually listening to her because he always appeared to be lost in his own thoughts and not paying that much attention to her ramblings. She didn’t even say that to him; it was more of a passing statement she mumbled to herself as she was washing the paint rollers in the bathroom and Frank was cleaning the paint that had dripped onto the ladder.

Obviously, she was wrong because Frank not only heard her but took what she had said seriously.

He scratched his neck, beginning to slowly retreat back to his apartment when Karen finally came to her senses and called out his name.

“Frank, wait. I’m sorry. I just- I didn’t think you’d-” she kept trying to put her thoughts into words, but it was impossible.

Taking a breath, she apologised once more and they agreed he would come back half an hour later, when Karen tidied up the bedroom.

Closing the door, Karen dashed to the kitchen, turning on the coffee machine then running to the bathroom to wash her face and get herself in order. Then she cleaned up her room, moving most of the things she could into the hallway since there wasn’t that much to begin with. Now only large pieces of furniture were left inside, like her bed and wardrobe.

Frank knocked on her door exactly half an hour later, and this time Karen greeted him with a cheerful smile as she led him inside. The smell of pancakes wafted inside the kitchen, mixed with the bitter aroma of black coffee. Frank sat at the island and Karen put a mug of hot coffee in front of him, along with a plate full of blueberry pancakes. Frank looked at her in astonishment, eyes gleaming and all of a sudden Karen felt self-conscious, tugging at her shirt collar.

“Um, thanks. Like you knew I haven’t eaten anything,” he said, eyeing the plate and taking a forkful of pancakes.

Karen grinned, setting a plate of pancakes for herself and sitting across from him.

“Well, to be perfectly honest, I heard your belly rumble when you came knocking the first time. I just figured I ought to offer you at least breakfast since you got up so early to help me.”

Mouth full of pancakes, Frank smiled briefly, lowering his gaze to the plate again. “That right, ha?”

Karen observed the way he chewed on the pancakes with delight, then told him, with a teasing tone, “Yeah. Besides, don’t you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day?”

“Guess it must’ve slipped my mind,” answered Frank jokingly, this time looking straight at her, his gaze unwavering. Karen blushed, but maintained the eye contact.

They ate and talked about the weather, Frank noting how they’d predicted a heavy blizzard for Christmas and that she should make sure her heating wasn’t acting up (as was sometimes the case in their building). He suggested he check it for her after they finished with painting.

“Always so thoughtful, Frank. You’re quickly becoming my personal handy man,” Karen quipped as she stood up to gather their plates.

And god, she wanted to slap herself. What the hell made her say that? Stealing a glance at Frank, she noticed he didn’t seem offended at all. On the contrary, he chuckled, beaming at her with the same look in his eyes as before that made her insides ignite. 

“You won’t see me complaining.” He said it with a hint of humour that Karen wasn’t sure if he was just pulling her leg or if Frank was ... flirting with her. It felt preposterous to even consider his statement as anything but him being his usual polite self. It caught her off guard, which is why she just stood rooted in place for a few moments, unsure of herself when Frank called out her name with a worried expression.

“You ok?” 

“Hmmm? Yeah, yeah. Let me just wash these and we can get to work.”

Frank frowned, eyes searching her face, but Karen quickly turned around to put the plates in the sink, using the opportunity chastise herself for even going there in the first place.

He was still mourning his family, she told herself. Didn’t they have an entire conversation about it yesterday? Karen reasoned she must be projecting her own thoughts, since she was well aware she was attracted to Frank from the first moment she saw him. On top of it all, she was constantly checking him out (that half unbuttoned shirt clung to his body like second skin and Karen had eyes, she couldn’t not see it!). What if he thought she was some kind of a creep? Or maybe she was just blowing this all out of proportion and she really shouldn’t let her imagination ran off on her like that. Especially when the last time she’d been with a man was... pretty long time ago.

Frank and Karen spent the better part of the day painting her room and she found it easier to fall into conversation with him than the day before. Frank was still his usual, restrained self, but something in him seemed to have shifted. It was a slight change in the way he addressed her, not shying away from actually looking at her when they talked and even occasionally cracking jokes. Bad ones, so they had a few good laughs at his expense.

“Hey, Frank,” Karen started when they were finished painting, both of them sitting in the kitchen having another cup of coffee before they parted their ways for the day, “have you- have you considered therapy?”

The way he looked at her in that moment let her know that he hadn’t. His pained expression cut through her like a knife and she wished she hadn’t said anything. She wasn’t even sure why she asked him that. Not like she was the poster girl for healthy coping mechanisms and overcoming trauma.

“I-I could never- could never really make myself talk about- talk about them,” his tongue stumbled over the words. “I-I sometimes...” 

He grew quiet and Karen didn’t attempt to ask him anything else, in spite of the yearning curiosity that plagued her, the same one that was the driving force behind her every article. That, and her love of truth, no matter how ugly and dirty it may be. Which was an irony since she herself lived a lie, fearing the day when she would have to be confronted with her own ugly truth.

“It’s ok, Frank. It’s ok,” she reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a light a squeeze, just to let him know she was there for him, that she understood.

His eyes bore into hers and Karen could clearly see his anguish, the tragic burden he carried with him all the time without him having to tell her anything. Frank squeezed her hand, more firmly than she did his, and in that moment Karen thought how he could probably see her own torment.

Before she could dwell on it, the moment passed, Frank retreated his hand, thanking her for the coffee and leaving her apartment without a second glance.

That night Karen lay in Addie’s bed, reading her the third chapter of her favourite book as Addie snuggled against her, her silky hair tickling Karen’s chin.

“Mommy?” Addie interrupted her reading, her baby blue eyes staring up at her.

Karen closed the book briefly, lowering her gaze to look at her daughter.

“Are you ok?”

The question surprised her, “Why do you ask, pumpkin?”

“It’s just that... Last night you were thinking really hard and now you’re thinking really hard too, so I was wondering if you were ok.”

It was true that Karen was absentminded the entire day; yesterday too. Her conversations with Frank, as strange and strained as they were, left her mind wandering to him more than she was ready to admit. He was an enigma she wished she could solve, see what’s beneath the silence and the unspoken. Karen wanted to understand him because she felt he needed someone to understand him _and_ his silence. If for no other reason, then to understand her own silence and tacitness.

Of course, she didn’t say that to her daughter.

“I am, baby. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“Is it because of Frank?” Addie insisted, “Are you worried about him?”

“Why would you say that?”

“He’s weird.”

Karen frowned, turning on her side and propping her head on her arm so she could be face to face with Addie. “That’s not nice to say about someone, you know that,” Karen chastised her, running her hand through Addie’s hair. “Why do you think that?”

Addie shrugged, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way, mommy. It’s just,” she was fidgeting with her fingers, squirming under the covers, “I think he’s hurting,” she said in almost a whisper.

 _God, this daughter of hers._ Addie was too smart sometimes, too perceptive.

Karen didn’t tell her anything but continued by asking her, “And why would you think that?”

“Because I saw him cry when I hugged him yesterday.”

Karen was flabbergasted; she didn’t know what to answer, how to explain to her daughter that she was right, that Frank was hurting, that every fibre of his being was hurting and it’s was the kind of pain that would never go away.

Karen didn’t want to tell Addie about Frank’s family, it seemed too much too soon and too personal, to tell his secrets to anyone, even her daughter.

“He is dealing with something, Addie. But he’s a good man.”

“I know that. I just don’t like when people are sad and cry. Makes me want to cry too.”

Karen caressed her cheek, kissing her forehead. “Oh, sweetie.”

Addie wrapped her arm around Karen’s middle, resting her head against Karen’s chest. “Can we make him feel better?”

Karen pondered for a few moments before answering, “Maybe. Maybe.”

*   *   *

On day three, Frank knocked on her door to apologise for leaving so abruptly the day before. He stood silent, his finger twitching again, she noticed. He bit his lip before saying, “I was thinking. I’ve got some leftover paint from a job I did some time ago. I coulda- we- could paint the rest of the apartment as well?”

It was so sudden and unexpected, and yet so predictably Frank. She remembered him saying that working helped him cope. So maybe she could help him too.

“Yeah, why not? Tomorrow?”

He grinned and nodded, seeming less tense than moments ago.

“See you then.”

* * *  
On day four, Frank showed up at ten again, but this time Karen was waiting for him. 

Day four was reserved for painting the living room and Frank doing some minor repairs around the apartment that he deemed necessary. Karen stopped thanking him since it was impossible for her to utter anymore ‘thank yous’ than she had already uttered. 

On day four, Frank brought croissants which they devoured in record time while they drank coffee Karen made and shot the breeze. 

While they painted Frank mentioned he served in Marines since he was eighteen years old.

Karen told him she moved to New York seven years ago and worked as a barista for a few months, earning a side glance from him, but he didn’t ask her to tell him anything more than she wanted to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay! We made it! This is the end, folks. I had so much fun writing this, even though it frustrated me at times the amount of angst I managed to infuse in this fic. I hope I did justice to these amazing characters. 
> 
> This chapter has just a tinnie tiny bit of angst, a whole lot of fluff, and oh yeah, smut! That smut part has me worried the most because I'm not used to writing it so if it seems weird, I'm sorry. 
> 
> Big thank you to everyone who read, kudos'd and commented on this fic, it really means the world to me since I'm new to this fandom. Also, thank you for the outpour of love for Addie, I'm so happy my OC was so well received.
> 
> I hope you'll leave comments on this chapter to to let me know what you think.
> 
> Enjoy :D

**Chapter 4**

On day six, they were supposed to paint the kitchen and Frank showed up with some additional paint, after he suggested the day before he could paint their cupboards and kitchen cabinets as well. _They look a bit shabby. The previous tenants weren’t big on cleanliness and keeping everything in order._ He kept mentioning the previous tenants as an excuse for the work he wanted to do that Karen had already given in even before he managed to come up with another reason why he should fix or replace something.

Granted, at first she did refuse because she most certainly didn’t need additional dent in her already draining bank account, but Frank practically insisted he cover all those addition costs, repeating _It keeps me busy,_ like he told her on that first day.

On day six, Karen made them PB&J sandwiches for breakfast since she couldn’t cook anything in the kitchen that day, and Frank showed up with two cups of coffee, plain black for him, as usual, and caramel flavoured for her. _You mentioned you liked to try different kinds of coffee when you worked in that coffee shop so... I didn’t know what to get you. Thought this would be okay._

While they painted, Karen mentioned she also used to work for a small law office as a secretary/investigator and that her best friend Foggy was her boss back then.   _It was while I worked with him that I realised how much I liked that investigative part. It gave me such thrill to uncover shady dealing and things the clients would prefer stay hidden. Foggy mocked me sometimes just to piss me off, but he was so encouraging when I decided to transition to journalism._

Frank told her his son used to play the piano, his daughter the guitar and that every time he came home from a tour, they would play a small concert for him. _Frank jr. was already good y’know, he’s been playin’ since he was five, but Lisa...it took her some time to a... to get the hang of the strings. The first time they played for me... Maria... She... She was crying, lookin’ at me with those dove eyes and that had me bawlin’ like a damn fool...They’d practised this, this song... I can’t remember now, but... it was, it was one of my favourites... and Lisa kept smiling at me, looking at me, missing the notes but she didn’t care...she would just giggle..._

It was the first time he mentioned his family by name.

On day six Frank ordered them pizza and they stood outside the apartment building, eating and drinking beer. In spite of the freezing cold, they both needed some break from the paint fumes, so Karen turned down the heating and opened the windows while they went outside.

Karen teased him about the paint that was stuck to his forehead and beard, and he in return nudged her shoulder lightly, chortling and saying she wasn’t the one to mock, with all that paint crusted on her left eyebrow and her cheeks.

*   *   *

On day eight, Frank took her to some diner he claimed had the best coffee in the city (it was hundred per cent Frank approved) and they had breakfast there, Karen telling him how much she missed work and hoped they would be done soon with the works in her apartment.

Frank’s expression fell slightly, and Karen wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

On day eight, they painted the kitchen cupboards and cabinets and Frank told Karen about his best friend Curtis who also served and how once Curtis almost died because of him. _Curt doesn’t blame me, But I blame myself. Every day. I shoulda, I shoulda known... Curt lost his leg that day_ , he told her _. He always threatens to beat me with his prosthetic one when I’m being an asshole,_ he added just to lighten the mood, Karen assumed, since he had that lost look in his eyes that he got when he talked about his family.

They laughed, Karen having such fun imagining someone actually beating Frank up because it sounded so absurd. Frank was a well-muscled guy (Karen appreciated that very much) and with him being in the Marines, she imagined him being practically invincible.

She told him no one was by her side when Addie was born save for Foggy, who was also Addie’s godfather. _He likes to make jokes about it, quoting lines from the movie. But he loves her so much and if it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know what would have happened with us._ When he gave her a questioning look, Karen continued, _I had... a difficult pregnancy. The delivery was...The doctors told me she might not make it._

Karen cried then, shuddering at the memory, emotions overcoming her and Frank abandoned his position on the floor, getting up and walking up to her, gradually wrapping his arms around her until she was pressed against him, her tear stained face brushing against his bearded cheek and he could feel every tremor that wrecked her body.

_She’s all right now, Karen, That’s all that matters. She’s alive and healthy and so smart. That’s what matters._

On day eight, Frank invited Karen and Addie to his apartment for dinner. It reflected him in the way that it wasn’t overstuffed with unnecessary furniture, just the essentials. There were a few photos of him and his family hanging on the walls and Karen stopped to study each and every one of them.

Maria was a beauty, her kindness radiating from her eyes. The kids were a stunning blend of their parents’ best features, their innocent smiles tugging at Karen’s heart.

When Frank caught her looking at the photos, they shared a look and a poignant smile. Karen squeeze his arm briefly as Frank’s breathing grew heavy. _They were beautiful, Frank. I know, Karen, I know._

Addie had explored his apartment, asking all sorts of questions about the things she found. She let out a squeal when she saw a dog collar and a leash under the coffee table. _You have a dog, Frank? No, but my friend does. Sometimes I walk him, when they’re too busy. You can come with sometimes, if you want and if it’s ok with your mom._

Addie gave Karen a pleading look and Karen suppressed a giggle, nodding her head in consent. The girl jump with glee, already planning with Frank when she could come with him to see the dog.

He made lasagne and Addie had eaten two servings, both her and Karen praising his cooking skills.

Addie told them all about their little class project where they had to take care of their class pet, Pete the guinea pig, and that soon it would be her turn.

They both saw how excited the girl was and Karen was thankful her daughter was leading a normal life, only briefly flashing to what could have been had she not...

*    *    *

On day ten, Karen invited Frank for a walk, wanting to get out of the stuffiness of the apartment.

They were bundled in their winter coats, faces hidden by scarves and their heads by beanies. Mostly they were window-shopping, admiring the beautifully adorned Christmas trees and fake presents displayed. But then Karen dragged Frank into a store, remembering she had to by some Christmas lights because Addie was a big fan of those.

Frank followed behind her as she surfed the store, picking up random decorations and admiring them, asking him every time if he thought she should buy it or if it would be too much.

Karen had always loved holidays, even more since she had Addie and the two of them would go overboard every year, especially for Christmas. Addie loved decorating the tree and putting Christmas decorations all over the house so it looked as festive as possible.  Also, she loved Christmas carols and Karen would let her stay up late to listen to them.

Frank made faces at most of Karen’s suggestions eliciting laughter from her, but in the end he ended up carrying a bag full of decorations and ornaments Karen made him buy for his place too, while she carried her bag. _You have to decorate, Frank! It’s Christmas!_

Somewhere along the way, Karen had hooked her arm under Frank’s, him showing no inclination to move away from her, and they walked like that until they had reached their building, when they had to disentangle so Karen could unlock the front door.

She’d like to say it felt amazing being that close to Frank, that she got to feel his biceps and forearm pressed against hers, that she felt his body heat and that somehow it had spread through her as well.

She would so like that.

In reality though, both their coats were pretty thick so the only thing she felt was a layer of wool upon another layer of wool and nothing else. 

Too bad.

*   *   *

On day thirteen Karen had to go back to work and she was very much looking forward to it. For Addie’s sake and her own, she tried not to read too much newspapers and she ignored all the alerts she got on her phone. Ellison, her boss, was more than glad she came back, if anything then to have someone to argue with again. He immediately assigned her a piece on police corruption and Karen dove head first into it.

By the time she picked up Addie from the babysitter and came home, it was already past six. Knackered, she still wanted to make a decent meal for them, since the veto on junk food was still in place.

After they had changed, Karen put on some music and they both danced while Karen simultaneously cut some red peppers. Addie had the entire song almost memorised and Karen laughed as Addie made her best impression of the singer, singing into a fake microphone (her hairbrush) and made faces.

It occurred to Karen to invited Frank for dinner so she sent Addie to get him.

They appeared some ten minutes later, their conversation carrying on in the kitchen. Addie was asking Frank if he could take her to the animal shelter he worked at because she wanted to see what kind of animals they had there. He replied _Sure, as long as your mom agrees. We have to ask her first_ at what Addie added, somewhat conspiratorially since she lowered her voice in a whisper, leaning closer to Frank _I got that covered, she can’t say no to me._

When she turned around and saw her mother looking at her with arched eyebrows and arms crossed on her chest, her eyes went wide in panic, before she smiled sweetly at Karen and excused herself saying she forgot something in her room.

Karen shook her head and both Frank and she laughed watching Addie dash out of the kitchen.

“Hell of a kid you’ve got there,” Frank told her as he approached her slowly.

Karen grinned in amusement, “Don’t I know it.”

There was a beat of silence when they just looked at each other, small smiles playing on their lips. Karen swallowed hard, her heart fluttering in her chest.

“Hi Karen,” Frank said after awhile, coming to stand in front of her, the softest look she had yet to see gleaming in his eyes.

“Hey Frank,” she croaked, eyes locked with his. She was hot all over.

“I-I brought wine.”

Karen broke their gaze to look down at the bottle in his hand.

“Rosé. Some good shit my friend’s wife got me hooked on.”

Karen burst out laughing at his wording, taking the bottle from him, “Geeze, Frank, I didn’t know you were this fancy.”

He smirked then, “Good to know I can still surprise you.”

Cue in internal screaming. Frank sure knew how to woo a lady, but Karen was trying to convince herself there was, in fact, no wooing and no flirting taking place. _It’s just Frank being nice, Karen, stop with your thirst._

Clearing her throat and trying to gather her bearings, Karen turned towards the stove to stir the vegetable.

“So, how was your first day back?” Frank asked her.

She told him all about the new piece she got to work on and Frank listened attentively, never interrupting her. When she finished, he told her he was glad for her, but to be careful. _These kind of people are dangerous, Karen_.

He was so sweet to worry about her that Karen now had a really really hard time convincing herself this thing between them was merely platonic.

After they finished with dinner, Addie turned on the music again and dimmed the lights and they migrated to the living room where she performed a show for them, singing at the top of her lungs and dancing like there’s no tomorrow.

When it was her bedtime, she kissed Frank on the cheek, and Karen heard Frank’s sharp intake of breath before he hugged Addie and wished her good night.

Karen took her to her bedroom and stayed there until Addie fell asleep, but not before saying she very much liked having Frank over. _He’s so funny, mommy. Yeah, you just say that because you want me to let you go with him to the shelter. That’s not true. Well, not completely._ They both giggled and Karen kissed her forehead then got up, turning off the light, and left the room.

When she came back into the living room, Frank was standing by the commode, eyes trained on the array of framed photos Karen had displayed there.

“Didn’t know you liked dressing up,” he said without even glancing up at her. He must have heard her come in.

“Oh, that.”

It was a picture someone took of her and Foggy at _Josie’s_ for Halloween one year. Foggy went as a butcher ( _My mother would be so proud_ ), and Karen as a vampire: fangs, fake blood on the corner of her crimson lips, red wig and a dress that clung to her body  a little too snugly.

“Looks good on you.”

She giggled like a damn schoolgirl ( _cool it down, Karen_ ), covering her mouth to prevent any idiocies that might come out. _What was wrong with her?_

“That night was... memorable,” was all she said eventually, going into the kitchen to bring that bottle of wine.

When she came back, she poured them both a glass and they drank in silence, sitting across from each other on the sofa, Karen’s feet tucked under her, one arm propped on the back of the sofa.

They talked well into the night, the lights still dimmed from when Addie turned them down and Karen was mesmerized with the way the streetlight cast a glow across Frank’s face. His eyes were soft and sparkly, or maybe it was the wine that made her see them that way.

She felt warm and safe and the way he looked at her made her cheeks burn. She wanted nothing more in that moment than to pull him closer and kiss him.

Instead she got up to watch the snow falling and Frank joined her by the window, hands tucked in his jeans pockets.

“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” Karen said with a smile as snowflakes landed on her windowsill.

“Yeah, it really is,” Frank’s voice was soft and low and when Karen turned to look at him, he was already looking at her with those deep brown eyes of his that made her insides all gooey.

Then My Girl by Temptations came on and they were still looking at each other when Karen felt Frank’s hands on her hips. He didn’t pull her closer, he didn’t do anything save for keep his hands on her, so that it was Karen who pulled him closer, lacing her fingers around his neck.

They were slow dancing under the dim light in her living room, moving in place to be exact, but it was too romantic for Karen to dissect this moment and try and sell it to herself as platonic.

They swayed like that, faces too close to each other that Karen felt his hot breath on her skin.

Her gaze dropped to his lips, his cupid’s bow, and a desire struck her to kiss it.

Frank beat her to it, leaning in slowly and pecking her lips, waiting for her response. Karen gave in immediately, savouring the feel of his lips on hers, the way his hands moved from her hips up her back, so gently, like he was afraid he would hurt her.

She leaned in even more, breathing him as her hands played with the hair at the nape of his neck and his fingers got tangled in her hair.

His beard tickled her face, making her giggle against his lips, her eyes closed.

“Somethin’ funny?” he asked in an amused tone.

It’s your beard.”

As she leaned back, Frank cupped her cheek with one hand, the other smoothing her hair.

“Want me to shave it off?”

“Maybe just trim it? If we’re planning on doing this more often?” she asked with hope in her voice and Frank leaned his forehead against hers, voiced cracked as he whispered, “I’d like that.”

Frank went back into his apartment, but not before they kissed some more.

*    *    *

On day seventeen, the three of them went to purchase a Christmas tree and Addie almost gave them both a heart attack when she got lost amongst the rows of trees, looking for the perfect one.

They had looked for her for twenty minutes, Karen at wits’ end, mumbling incoherently about someone taking Addie and Frank trying to calm her down when Addie appeared out of nowhere to drag them to the tree she wanted to get.

Karen gave her an earful, still shaking and in shock from the scare, unable to speak.

Addie looked ashamed, tears welling in her eyes until Frank crouched and told her _Hey sweetheart, don’t cry please. You made your mom worry and it wasn’t ok. But now you know not to do it again, right?_ and she nodded, eyes still fixed on him, her lips quivering when Frank continued, _You’re a good kid_ and Addie wrapped her arms around his neck and cried _I’m sorry, Frank_ while he ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing manner and whispered, _It’s all right, sweetheart, it’s all right._

Then she turned around and ran into her mother’s arms, both crying, Karen kissing her tear-stained cheeks and begging her not to scare her like that ever again and Addie saying sorry over and over again.

*   *    *

On day nineteen, Addie and Karen were decorating the tree while some Christmas themed music played in the background when they heard a loud whine from the outside.

Karen went to check what it was. After checking through the peephole, she opened the door, beaming at Frank who was trying to open his apartment door while holding a bag of groceries and a greyish pitbull on a leash.

“New friend, Frank?”

He turned around and exhaled in exhaustion, leaning against the door.

“the Liebermans’ dog. Buddy.”

She held out her hands to take the grocery bag and he thank her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before Addie came running towards them, screaming _doggie!!!!_ and started petting Buddy while he basked in her scratching him behind his ears.

“Come inside?” she invited him and Frank nodded, taking her hand as she led him inside, Addie taking the leash from him and running past them to go play with Buddy.

“You’re spoiling her,” she sad, depositing the groceries bag on the counter.

“Well, I wanted to ask you first if it was ok to bring him, but he kept whining and...”

“Yeah, yeah. You knew well what you were doing. Now she’ll want a puppy for Christmas and I can’t afford it,” she said lamentably, glancing over to the half-adorned tree where Buddy was lying on his back and Addie was scratching his belly.

“I’m sorry,” Frank looked bashful, rubbing his thumb across her knuckle. “Look, maybe... maybe I could take her to the shelter with me a couple of days a week, after school. She can pet as many animals as she wants and you won’t have to get a dog then.”

“Karen looked at him from under her lashes, “That’s a good compromise.”

“I know. I’m smart like that,” he said as his lips landed on hers and he kissed her more fervently than before.

“Never said you weren’t.”

*   *   *

On Christmas Eve Frank came to Karen’s apartment a bit later than usual since the shelter ran short on staff and he was more than willing to stay there a few hours more.

 _Animals. They... I don’t know... They have such a calming effect on me. I like to repay them any way I can_ , he told Karen when he apologised for coming late and she asked him how he was doing and if working there helped him. She asked him that because she noted how jumpy he tended to be in the mornings, looking a bit lost, and so much lighter in the evenings, when he came back from the shelter.

Addie went to sleep earlier so she could wake up early in the morning. She was excited to open her presents that Karen had laid out under the tree moments before Frank came. She even helped Karen bake the cookies which she then put under the radiator, along with a glass of milk.

Frank huffed a laugh when he saw it, saying how cute it was of Addie to do that, in spite of the fact, as she herself told him a couple of days back when they were in the mall and they saw Santa’s village there, _I’m not so silly to believe in Santa, Frank. But I gotta do it, it’s Christmas tradition!_

Frank pulled out two small boxes out of the bag he brought with him, wrapped in a sparkly wrapping paper.

“I, uh-I got you two something. For under the tree.”

He handed her the presents and Karen took them, looking at him with tears in her eyes before she threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss.

“You shouldn’t have. Frank, you are wonderful.”

“Nah, you are.”

He kissed her cheek, peppering kisses down her jaw as Karen closed her eyes and let out long sigh.

He kept her steady with one hand, the other travelling up her back, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling just slightly so he could get a better access.

“Frank,” Karen whimpered, drawing his attention to her.

“Yeah?”

“Maybe we should go to the bedroom.”

They shared a long look before he nodded finally, and wrapped his hand around Karen’s then pressing a kiss on the back of her hand. He let her lead him to her bedroom, washed in moonlight.

When she turned around to face him, she could feel her heart thundering in her chest and her blood rushing in her ears. Frank cupped her face oh so gently, leaning his forehead against hers briefly before he kissed her again, his tongue brushing against her lip.

“Frank.”

He pulled back, Karen resting her hands on his shoulders, eyes on his as she trailed her fingers down his chest to the zipper of his hoodie. She pulled it down lazily, her breathing heavy from expectation. She pushed it off his shoulders and Frank took it off fast, his hands coming back to rest on her hips before he pulled her shirt up, wasting no time in taking it off.

The rest of their clothes ended up scattered on the floor as Frank laid her on the bed, hovering carefully above her, pampering kisses along her throat, her chest, sucking on the sensitive skin.

Karen moaned, her nails scratching his back as Frank kneaded her breasts, licking the valley between her breasts, his beard rubbing against her, waking goosebumps along the way.

Her body was shivering from sensation already, her nerves on fire.

His rough calloused hands were tender on her skin, and when he reached her belly, Karen raked her fingers though his hair, gripping it so as to keep him there as his fingers roamed up and down her things, kneading, teasing, eliciting more and more moans.

“So beautiful,” he kept murmuring and Karen felt like she was going to combust.

“Frank, please” she whimpered, and he looked up. He must have understood what she wanted because he crawled up, his lips never leaving her body until he finally came face to face with her.

“You sure?” he asked cautiously and when she nodded, he kissed her with such zeal that Karen honestly believed she could die contently that very minute.

They made love unhurriedly, Karen sitting in his lap, their gazes locked on each other, as Frank caressed her back, her hand on his chest and she giggled to herself, _Now you finally know what those pecs look and feel like, Karen. Happy now?_

*    *    *

Karen woke up with an unusual feeling in her chest and it took her a second to understand what it was.

Complete and utter happiness.

Frank was spooning her, their legs entwined, his arm lying heavy across her waist.

Frank’s beard tickled her ear as he whispered, pulling her firmly against his chest, “Merry Christmas.”

*   *   *

The three of them were sitting in the living room, Karen and Frank on the sofa cuddled together and drinking coffee while they were watching Addie unwrap her presents.

“Mommy! You got me the book!”

“Of course, pumpkin. You told me at least million times how much you wanted it,” Karen teased her daughter as they hugged, Addie repeating thank you over and over again.

Then she found the present from Frank, and he suggested she and Karen open theirs together.

Karen gasped when she opened the box containing a lotus flower pendant. She looked over and saw the same one in Addie’s hand.

He started clumsily, fidgeting with his fingers, “I uh, I saw it a few days back. The lady at the store said it had a bunch of different meanings. Uh- I- I liked the one with a- she said it can signify rebirth, purity of human soul.” He grasped Karen’s hand. “I liked that one. I kinda feel you did that for me, both of you. Made me feel whole again. And you’re so- so kind and generous and-”

Lips parted, Karen didn’t fight the tears that came streaming down her cheeks, throwing herself at Frank, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“You are the most amazing man I know. Well, save for Foggy,” they chuckled as she pulled back to look at him. “You deserve all the happiness in this world, Frank. Never doubt that.”

They kissed but quickly pulled back when they heard Addie say _Ewwwww._

Addie stood in front of Frank, looking at him for a long moment, then at Karen, before returning her gaze to Frank.

“I’m really glad you’re with us, Frank. I’m glad we found each other.”

“I’m glad we found each other too, sweetheart.”

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her and Addie kissed his bearded cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Frank.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to hit that kudos button and/or drop a comment to let me know what you think :D  
> You can find me on tumblr under the-mimi-hiddleston


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